About St. Stanislaus · Duncan, Nebraska
St. Stanislaus Parish is a Roman Catholic parish in the village of Duncan, Platte County, Nebraska, belonging to the Archdiocese of Omaha. The parish is part of the 'Family of the Immaculate Conception' cluster of parishes administered from St. Mary's in Wayne, sharing a pastor and sacramental ministry with neighboring Polish-heritage mission communities in the region. Today it celebrates Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m., with confessions heard before Mass, and continues to serve the small Polish-American Catholic farming community that founded it more than 140 years ago.
- Established
- 1882
- Patron
- St. Stanislaus (Stanisław, Bishop and Martyr of Kraków)
- Rector
- Fr. Matthew Capadano
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha
Why belong here
St. Stanislaus in Duncan offers a small-town, Polish-Catholic-rooted worship community where parishioners know one another by name. It is part of the Family of the Immaculate Conception, a cluster of parishes served by a common pastor, which means Catholics in Duncan continue to receive regular Sunday Mass, confessions before Mass, and access to diocesan sacraments while keeping their historic parish identity. Visitors and members are welcomed into a community that has celebrated the Eucharist on the same ground for well over a century.
Mass times at St. Stanislaus
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:30–8:50 AM (before 9:00 AM Mass)
Adoration times
- Saturday 4:30–5:00 PM (1st Saturday of the month — Eucharistic Adoration)
Parish Identity and Location
St. Stanislaus Parish serves the Village of Duncan in Platte County, Nebraska, within the Archdiocese of Omaha. The parish is part of the Family of the Immaculate Conception, a cluster of Catholic parishes coordinated from St. Mary's in Wayne that share pastoral and sacramental ministry across rural northeast Nebraska.
- Address: 1120 8th Street, Duncan, NE 68634
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Omaha
- Cluster: Family of the Immaculate Conception (familyofic.org)
- Parish contact phone: (402) 246-2255
- Cluster email: [email protected]
Polish Pioneers and the Origins of St. Stanislaus (1869–1882)
The parish traces its roots to 1869, when the first Polish families settled in the farming country between Duncan and Columbus, drawn by the Union Pacific Railroad. These pioneers — including Valentine Jarecki, Valenty Lassek, John and Joseph Rosno, Felix Krzycki, Anton Nikolajezyk, John Krzycki, Lawrence Kujawa, Thomas Podraza, Stanislaus Skorupa, and M. Borowiak — at first had no church of their own and relied on visiting missionaries, among them Father James Mary Ryan and the Jesuit Father Szulak, who first visited the neighborhood around 1877. The first Polish priest assigned to the area was Father Sebastian Cebulla, who arrived in 1880 and served the Polish Catholics for three years.
- First Polish settlers arrived in the Duncan area in 1869.
- Missionary priests (Fr. Ryan, Fr. Szulak S.J.) visited the Polish Catholics periodically from the late 1870s.
- Father Sebastian Cebulla, the first Polish priest, came to the area in 1880.
Building the First Church (1882–1883)
In 1882 Father Cyril Augustinsky petitioned Bishop James O'Connor of Omaha for a church site, arguing that a Polish church would encourage settlers to buy nearby Union Pacific land. Permission was granted; Michael Wleczek donated the ground; and a fundraising committee was formed. Irish Catholic neighbor John B. Kyle was the first to contribute $100. Construction began in the summer of 1882; the primitive structure was dedicated on Christmas Eve, 1882, with the first Mass celebrated on Christmas Day. Father Anastase Czech, O.F.M., who succeeded Father Cyril, completed the building by October 21, 1883, adding a sanctuary and two sacristies to the 26 x 40 foot church. Before the church existed, Mass was sometimes celebrated at the Jarecki home or in the district school on the Island.
- Original church: 26 x 40 feet, completed October 21, 1883.
- Land donated by Michael Wleczek; first major gift $100 from John B. Kyle.
- First Mass: Christmas Day, 1882.
Parochial School and Cemetery
Father Anastase organized a small frame parochial school in 1887, hiring Peter Kozlowski as teacher at $200 per year, plus $50 for serving as parish organist and caring for the chapel and linens. The Franciscan Sisters took over teaching on October 28, 1889. In 1887–1888 the parish also acquired two acres near the church for a cemetery and purchased 40 acres from Howard Kennedy of Omaha (deeded over to the parish in February 1893), part of which was fenced in as cemetery land.
- Frame schoolhouse built 1887.
- First teacher: Peter Kozlowski (1887).
- Franciscan Sisters began teaching October 28, 1889.
- Cemetery land purchased February 1888.
Incorporation and Growth (1886–1900)
On July 21, 1887, the parish was formally incorporated under Nebraska law at a meeting in Omaha, with Bishop James O'Connor, Vicar-General Rev. R. A. Shaffel, Father Anastase Czech, and laymen Martin Borowiak and Stanislaus Tomaszewic present. Two large bells were purchased on March 7, 1886, and the belfry was completed that September, with the bells blessed by Rev. Stanowski on September 20, 1886. Through the rest of the 19th century the parish continued to expand both its physical plant and its congregation of Polish-American farm families.
- Articles of incorporation signed in Omaha on July 21, 1887.
- Two large bells blessed September 20, 1886.
Sacramental Firsts
Parish sacramental records preserved from the founding era give a vivid picture of community life in the first years of the parish.
- First baptism: John Stephan Koziol (born December 13, 1882); ceremony performed by Father Anastase.
- First marriage: Joseph Cich (son of John Cich) and Louise Koziol (daughter of Paul Koziol), 1883.
- First funeral: Andrew Szeweczyk, age 31, May 31, 1883.
Family of the Immaculate Conception
St. Stanislaus today is clustered into the Family of the Immaculate Conception, a grouping of rural Catholic parishes in northeast Nebraska served by a common pastoral team led by Fr. Matthew Capadano. The cluster publishes a single bulletin, ministry schedule, and online giving portal, and pastoral contact is routed through St. Mary's parish office in Wayne. This arrangement allows a small historic parish like St. Stanislaus to maintain its own identity, building, and Sunday Mass while sharing administrative and sacramental resources with its sister parishes.
- Cluster website: https://familyofic.org
- Cluster pastor: Fr. Matthew Capadano
- Cluster office phone: 402-375-2000 ext 125
Contact and Visiting
Parishioners and visitors can reach St. Stanislaus at (402) 246-2255. The mailing address is 1120 8th Street, Duncan, NE 68634. General inquiries for the Family of the Immaculate Conception cluster may be directed to [email protected].
- Phone: (402) 246-2255
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 1120 8th Street, Duncan, NE 68634
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Sebastian Cebulla1880–1882
First Polish priest assigned to the Polish Catholics of the Duncan area.
- Rev. Cyril Augustinsky1882
Petitioned the bishop for a church site from the Union Pacific Railroad; began construction in summer 1882.
- Rev. Anastase Czech, O.F.M.1882–~1909
Finished the original 26 x 40 ft church by October 1883; organized the parochial school in 1887; incorporated the parish on July 21, 1887.
- Rev. Cyril Mitera, O.F.M.1909–1914
- Rev. Flavius Kraus, O.F.M.1914–1928
Built a new brick schoolhouse in 1915.
- Rev. Casimir Wisniewski, O.F.M.1928–?
- Rev. John Maciejewskito 1939
Diocesan priest.
- Rev. George S. Mikulski1939–
Diocesan priest under whose leadership the present modified-Gothic church was built and completed in October 1939.
- Fr. Matthew Capadanocurrent
Current pastor of the Family of the Immaculate Conception parishes.